Fire and Ice
by SickAndTwistedSleazoid
Summary: *No Summary Available* Rated M because despite my reading it over for errors, I forget the content quite quickly, and there may be horrible, horrible obscenity that I have missed. Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and if I did I wouldn't be writing this.
1. Fire and Ice::Chapter 1

The house smelled absolutely disgusting…like an old pair of socks that had been left to mold

The house smelled absolutely disgusting…like an old pair of socks that had been left to mold. It also had a damp, earthy smell to it in some places, as if the floor were rotting away. The walls were crumbling, and there was a slight draft in the kitchen. They dared not tread upstairs for fear the floor would give out beneath their feet; the feet of a bed were sticking through, well in view, in the living area, and this hole in the ceiling above Sasori's head often creaked as if it were about to give way, at which point he would awaken with some trepidation and sometimes would even move out of the way in case the bed did happen to fall through the rotting wood. But nothing had fallen through so far, and though he often wanted to know what the upper level of the house looked like, he didn't dare go up there. There was a loud cracking noise; Sasori knew better than to look. He knew pieces of the wooden ceiling above him were crumbling out of place again. He would fix them, but really, he didn't think it was worth it. This place was going to fall down in a year whether he tried to fix it or not. He sighed and threw down the decaying newspaper. Always the same old stories. 'Man is murdered; family safe…' It was probably because they had neglected to go into town and retrieve a new newspaper (consequently, they were very behind on the times), but Sasori knew better than to blame anyone other than himself for their boredom. The front door opened. He knew it was the front door by the sound of it almost cracking off of its hinges for the hundredth time since anyone had been here last. Then there was a strange wrenching noise as it scraped against the floor. His partner was attempting to shut it. "Did you get anything?" Sasori asked, flipping himself onto his stomach and resting his chin on the worn out arm of the couch. "No," Orochimaru spat, brushing a strand of deep black hair out of his face. "I keep telling you we're in the wrong area, but do you listen? No! You're so conceited you won't stop to look at—" "Shut up," Sasori said in a deathly calm voice. Orochimaru obeyed, but reluctantly. The anger shown bright in his eyes. "I've told you a hundred times, Orochimaru, I was shown undeniable proof that he would be coming this way. If you don't believe me, fine. You can cross the desert, risk your own life, because you won't survive two days out there!" A strong gust of wind rattled the house, and a couple more windows shattered upstairs. There was a dead silence as Orochimaru and Sasori glared at each other. Loathing was roaring like a desert sandstorm through the house, and Sasori was ready in case he got attacked. He always had a few tricks hidden up his sleeves, so to speak, but Orochimaru seemed to know better than to make a move. His initiation into Akatsuki had been a rough one, despite his outstanding skills as a ninja. Zetsu had nearly slaughtered him out of hunger, but Orochimaru had caught him at the very last second and just managed to save his life. Sasori had not been pleased about this. Due to his lack of a partner, Orochimaru seemed the perfect match, but this had been proven false. Unlike most Akatsuki, Orochimaru and Sasori's working relationship was strained by their loathing of each other, and they rarely worked well together in battle. This often resulted in failed missions, and Pein being extremely irritated with both of them. Kakuzu had once said, "Never partner together two people who arrive in Akatsuki three days apart." Wasn't that the truth. "Look," Sasori said. "You can either stay here and go with the original plan, and live. Or, you can go on a madman's journey through the desert, and die. It's all up to you." Orochimaru was fuming; his hands shook with anger. "I choose the desert," he hissed. "If I'm dead, I won't have to look at you!" Sasori shrugged, and turned back over on his back, picking up an old, half-decayed issue of 'Audubon.' He flipped through the pages, looking at pictures of strange flowers and birds, and there was a dull, wooden thunk as something penetrated his skull. He sighed, lifted his hand, and found the handle of a kunai, and pulled it out of the wood. As his head was piecing itself back together, he said, "Did you really think you could kill me, Orochimaru? Just go on your little nature walk to Suna. I'll go find you when I've got the Shukaku." He heard Orochimaru storm out the door, and as he slammed it, it fell to the ground. Sasori couldn't care less what happened to the door. It was sort of in the way anyway. He flipped past pictures of penguins and hummingbirds, and then his eyes fell on a stunning photograph of a tree frog just barely hanging on to a thin branch. His eyes were strained in the dimming light, but he knew the colors must be absolutely vibrant. Carefully, his thin fingers gripped the page, and tore it out. He nimbly folded it, and tucked it in a pocket inside of his cloak. The tree frog would be his forever. Another gust of wind tore through the house, blowing dust and newspapers everywhere. The wind outside howled through the night; there was a crash of thunder, and the rain started.


	2. Fire and Ice::Chapter 2

The house smelled absolutely disgusting…like an old pair of socks that had been left to mold

:Sixteen Years Later:

_"He never came back," Sasori said. "I think he's gone for good." Pein rested his head in his hands. He had recently been very stressed out, and Sasori was sure this news wasn't helping him. "Look, I could care less that Orochimaru is gone," he said. "It's the ring we need to get back. Without it, we'll always be short one member; it's hurting the organization!" "I think that's what he wants," Sasori muttered. Pein slammed his fist down onto the table. "Of course that's what he wants, damnit!" He watched as Pein paced the room. "I just don't know how we're going to get it back…I mean, say he didn't die out in the desert. Then where is he?" _

"Wake up." Sasori began to stir. "Wake up faster!" He felt someone smack him over the top of the head, and his eyes jolted open. "WHAT?!" he screamed to Itachi. He was covered in blood that didn't appear to be his own, and he looked like he had just had a hell of a fight. "You have a new partner, Sasori. Leader says you must come and greet him." New partner? After sixteen years he FINALLY had a new partner? "They got Orochimaru's ring back?" Itachi laughed mirthlessly. "Of course not, puppet…" Sasori's memory started flashing back to him. His new partner must have gotten the last available ring… "Alright, I'm coming…" He rolled off of the cot and followed Itachi through a bunch of winding caverns lined with red lanterns for light. The walk seemed to take forever, but at least it woke him up enough to think coherently. They came to the last chamber, where a few other members of the organization were gathered. Pein was holding up someone that Sasori didn't recognize, but seemed to be only half-conscious with wounds that had been wrapped in makeshift bandages. "Sasori!" Pein called to him (though there was an echo, so it really hadn't been necessary). "This is Deidara. He's your new partner." "I've been informed," Sasori responded as Deidara coughed blood. "Rough initiation?" Deidara weakly raised his head. He was bleeding out the nose and mouth and looked as though a truck had hit him. "I'm here involuntarily, un," he said hoarsely. Sasori stepped forward and cupped Deidara's cheek with his hand, tilting his head to the left to get a good look at him. "How old is he?" he asked Pein. "Sixteen…the youngest member yet." Deidara coughed again, and droplets of his blood fell to the ground. "How long until he recovers?" "We've estimated it at about a week," Pein said. Deidara groaned and went limp. "Excellent," Sasori murmured, wrapping the unconscious boy up in chakra strings and began the tedious process of dragging the boy back to his room. It would have been a relatively boring journey, but Kisame caught up with him half way there. "I'll bet you're glad you didn't have to go through Itachi to get in," he said, thrusting his thumb over his shoulder to indicate Deidara. "Almost killed him." "I see that," Sasori spat. "Let's just hope it doesn't happen again!" "But you should see what he did to the cavern!" Kisame exclaimed, pointing at Deidara again. "Blasted huge craters into the stone!" Sasori's eyes widened, and he stopped in his tracks. "What? How?" "Bombs," Kisame whispered excitedly. "So I take it he's a long range fighter?" Sasori began walking again, and Kisame nodded. "Good…it'll be easier to work with him, then…" Kisame followed him for a few more yards, but could think of nothing to say, so he turned around and walked the opposite direction. When he had gotten back to his room with his new companion, Sasori dug around in one of many random storage closets and managed to find a decent cot (better than his own, actually), and some old blankets that smelled sort of like mothballs. He then set up the cot with some difficulty because it was a little rusted, released Deidara from the chakra ties, lifted him (noting how thin he was as the boy's spine pressed into Sasori's wrist), and covered him up with the blankets. It would be a few more hours, Sasori estimated, before Deidara woke up again, at which point he would try to feed him.

:Four Days Later:

Deidara was finally up walking around, and although he was still badly bruised from his fight with Itachi, his cuts were beginning to heal, the swelling had gone down, and he had cleaned himself up quite nicely, revealing a handsome, finely featured face and fierce blue eyes. And in spite of his thinness, he was very high strung (though he tried his hardest to be as serious as possible), and often, when they were alone, he would begin talking at great length about art. This was something he and Deidara had in common—their love of art. Unfortunately, Deidara's beliefs were vastly different from Sasori's. He believed art to be transient, whilst Sasori believed it to last as long as possible. They'd had a few heated arguments on the subject already, but it never got physical like it might have with Orochimaru. Sasori was quite pleased to have someone to talk to intelligently, and didn't mind having Deidara around. He thought he was actually rather pleasant (though this was most likely in comparison to Orochimaru, who tried his hardest to kill Sasori, but failed miserably every time). Deidara was feisty, but tended to obey Sasori quite well most of the time. He would see how the boy did out in the field, though. He planned to leave the next Wednesday for Sunagakure. Rumor had it the Shukaku was now sealed within a Genin boy of about twelve. "Wednesday, un?" Deidara asked, flicking a rock across the stone floor. "Don't you think that's a little soon, un?" Sasori rolled over on his cot. "Well, let's look at it this way, Deidara…it's been four days. You're almost fully recovered. You've got about a week until we leave. Think of this time indoors as an early vacation, because when we leave this cave, we won't be getting another one for a hell of a long time." Deidara cocked his head. "Vacations, too? I think the only thing you people don't provide is food and a five star hotel, un." "Just be thankful you have a place to sleep," Sasori yawned, running his hand through his thick, crimson hair. Deidara flicked the rock again, and Sasori grimaced. "Will you quit that!?" He screamed, and Deidara recoiled. "I'm sorry, Sasori-danna," he said in a small voice, and did not go to retrieve his rock. Sasori, who was feeling particularly lazy tonight, rolled over on his stomach with an arm hanging off the cot—he was careful, though. To reveal to Deidara what he was too soon would mean an unsteady working relationship. He didn't want that. "So…where were we going, un?" the blonde asked, fidgeting a little. "I'll tell you where we're going as soon as you tell me what kind of drugs you're taking to make you so damn hyper," Sasori retorted. "Danna, it's what I'm not taking, yeah…now, where are we going?" "Sunagakure," Sasori snapped. "But, depending on the weather, we might take a detour into Konoha…I've heard there isn't a single tavern in the whole village." Deidara looked at him quizzically. "Then how the hell am I supposed to get plastered, un?" "Go down the mountain, into the field, and start gorging yourself on the mushrooms," Sasori replied, letting his mind wander ever so slightly off track. He conjured up, in his mind's eye, images of griffins and sorcerers who were sent to defeat them, and then he thought of insects, and how some of them were simply too bouncy. "Augh! Dei! What the hell is this!?" A grasshopper had landed on Sasori's cheek—it was cold and wet, and he had lifted his hand to brush it away. This effort had merely smeared the insect across his face, and when he looked at his fingers, he found it not to be organic grasshopper, but earthen grasshopper. "You've been thinking too hard, un," Deidara responded. "Let's go get wasted!" "I am not going down the mountain this time of day—" "You've been asleep all fucking day, yeah! I wanna do something worth my while, un…not set clay grasshoppers on you, Danna!" Sasori turned over, and responded with newfound malice. "Well then take an hour, go masturbate or something, and let me sleep. I didn't sleep all fucking night because I was up developing the recipe for a new toxin, which, if you don't shut up and leave me alone for a while, I will be forced to use on you!" "Fine, un," Deidara said, voice rising steadily with each syllable. "I'll leave you alone!" He stormed out of their room and walked as quickly as he could to the outside. His bruises were beginning to hurt him with each step he took, but he savored the pain…it was keeping him alert. Soon the light was sighted, and he beheld daylight with an outcry of agony as it nearly burned out his corneas, and he started off down the mountain. He was going to gather a bunch of these mushrooms, go back to their room, eat them, and go insane. "Sasori-danna, you fucking jackass, un," Deidara muttered under his breath. "Let's see how well you deal with a psychopath, yeah…" As he reached the field, he saw a whole bunch of mushrooms crowded around the sides of the cliffs, and went to go pick them. As he knelt down, though, he noticed something wasn't right about them. Furiously, he picked about a dozen and headed back up the mountain to the hideout.

"DEATH CAPS!" Deidara roared. "YOU WANTED ME TO EAT DEATH CAPS, YEAH!! HOW FUCKING STUPID DO YOU THINK I AM, DANNA?!" He threw the deadly mushrooms to the ground, and had half a mind to strangle Sasori, who was lying there perfectly calm. "Honestly," he said. "I thought you'd fall for it." Deidara glared at him. "Fuck you, un…" "Right back at you, Dei," Sasori yawned, and picked up a mushroom that was intact. "But really…I could have sworn there were psychotropics down there…there were a bunch last year…Death Cap spores must have blown in on the winds…do you think you could go get me some more of these?" "Danna, I am not touching any more toxic mushrooms, un! I am going to wash my hands, and then I'm going to go and blow something up, yeah!" Sasori cocked his head to the side, an arrogant smile on his face. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a terrible temper? You may want to get medication for that, Deidara…" The boy threw his hands in the air in defeat and walked out of the room. Sasori smirked. He knew that even if Deidara tried, he probably would have an extremely hard time killing him. "Dance, puppet, dance!" he screamed after him, and from down the cavern, Deidara called back an irritated "Fuck you!"


	3. Fire and Ice::Chapter 3

It hadn't taken him long to traverse back down the mountain, for in his rage, he found that he could walk much faster than he normally would be able to. Must have been the adrenaline rush. He'd found a nice spot to sit, away from the rest of the world, and had carefully sculpted a squirrel out of some of his clay. He released it, watching it in envy as it scrambled up the trees, jumping and seeming to dance in the leaves. Angrily, he blew it up, and smoldering branches fell all around him. There wasn't much left concerning sunlight, and as soon as night fell, he'd put on a show that no one would have expected. It would be seen for miles around. Eagerly, Deidara grabbed another chunk of clay out of his bag and began sculpting a seagull…as the hours drove relentlessly on, he had managed to make 4 more seagulls, 16 bats, 40 butterflies, 2 screech owls, and a small dragon. It had to be about midnight, though he doubted everyone was asleep yet. Akatsuki often stayed up until dawn throwing wild drinking parties. He half hoped that one or two would fall drunkenly over the side of the cliff. He took a breath. Now was the time. First, he sent out his bats. They fluttered into the air, spiraling overhead, and Deidara blew them up. They emitted a starburst pattern of green and purple streams of fire, with silver sparkles in their wake. Next went 10 butterflies. As they exploded, each made a different pattern in the sky. This was what Deidara always loved about the butterflies. No two were exactly the same. Most of the colors were extraordinarily vivid, except for the one in the center of the blast, which blew a dark red mushroom cloud laced with purple sparkles. Then the seagulls. They flew up in a figure 8 formation and blew up as the crossed the middle of the 8. They were generally all the same blast (a five-point green starburst with a gold sparkle orb for a center), except with each explosion, the color position would alternate. These bangs were exceptionally loud (an excellent reason to love the seagulls). Deidara knew some of them were already on the cliff wondering what the hell was going on. If Sasori was one of them, he was going to be pleasantly pissed. In fact, Deidara hoped he lost his head and came all the way down the mountain to beat him senseless.

"What the hell is the commotion about?" Hidan demanded. "Not sure," Zetsu growled. "But whoever is doing it is going to find their way into my digestive tract pretty damn soon…""No," Sasori barked. "I know exactly who's doing it, and I believe that there is a rule stating that you do not kill your comrades!" Hidan and Zetsu glanced back up at the sky and the brilliant fireworks that were detonating before their eyes. "I do agree he should be punished," Sasori added calmly as an afterthought. "People are going to be watching," Hidan said. "Doesn't he realize he's putting us in jeopardy?" Sasori chuckled. "He probably does. And if he gets himself killed while he's down there making a mess of things, Zetsu can have his body if we can recover it." Zetsu grinned, and looked towards the ground. "You don't suppose Leader's gonna have it in for the little asshole after this?" "Quite possible," Hidan murmured. "I wouldn't put it past him to kill him on the spot."

Next were the dragon and the screech owls. As they took off into the air, the dragon breathed a thin jet of white-hot flame into the sky above it while the owls spiraled around it, their wings shedding red sparks. And they were the first to blow up. One pink, the other lime green, they erupted much in the manner of a supernova, all the while the dragon breathing its white fire all around them. Then it was the dragon's turn. With an earth-shaking roar, it blasted to smithereens. The fire took the shape and color of the ant nebula, then spun wildly before emitting one final high-pitched, screeching jet of green sparkles from its center, and faded away. Deidara fell to his knees. It had been his most beautiful combination yet. He had doubted he'd be able to pull it off—dragon explosions were so difficult to regulate. But he had done it… "WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" Sasori's voice boomed through the trees. "Are you fucking INSANE!? Do you realize you've put the organization in danger?! We'll be lucky if a hundred people didn't see your little display out here tonight!!" Deidara couldn't see well in the dark, but Sasori seemed to be mere inches from his face. "I told you I was gonna do it, un!" "NO! You told me you were going to go blow something up! This—this is—WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, DUMBASS?!" "You may want to quiet down, Danna," Deidara warned timidly. "If they saw that, they can definitely hear you, un…" "Do you think I care?!" Sasori hissed into Deidara's ear. "Do you really think it fucking matters to me what happens now? You've already probably revealed our location to a hundred ANBU, and we'll be lucky if Leader doesn't send us into Protection Formation!!" "What?" "EXACTLY. You have NO idea what that is, and therefore you will be useless to us!! GOD DAMN IT, DEIDARA!! I—I—" Sasori fell silent and ran a hand through his hair. Deidara hung his head in shame. "I promise I'll never do it again, un…" More silence. He was sure Sasori was thinking of how best to insult him next, but he didn't dare say anything to him, for he deserved what he was getting, and what was coming to him. "But hey, that was one hell of a fireworks display," Sasori said with a chuckle. "I have to admit that even I was impressed." Deidara was taken aback, and merely sat with his mouth gaping for a moment, trying to think of something to say. But not a single word came—not a syllable, even—and he shut his mouth again. "I kind of liked it. Just don't do it again, Dei." With that, Sasori began to walk away.

Three days had passed since Sasori had last talked to Deidara. This lack of contact was leaving the poor boy a nervous wreck, and as much as Sasori loved to watch him suffer, he also needed to build trust between them if their working relationship was going to work. He wondered whether their last little chat (if you could call it that) had rendered Deidara frightened, confused, or whatever else he might be feeling that would negatively affect the working relationship. Personally, Sasori couldn't care less whether the moron liked him. He just wanted to be able to work as effectively as possible. "I'd better go talk to him," he muttered, and rolled off his cot, onto the floor. He then got up, dusted himself off a little, and went in search of his partner. He searched through as many of the various caverns as he could, through the main ones, the stupid little side ones, and even the ones that held water. There was no sign of Deidara anywhere. But Sasori knew he couldn't have run off—he left his shoes behind, for one thing. "Dei!" he finally called out at last, feeling quite defeated. "Deidara, where the hell are you!? We need to talk!!" No answer…a minute, two minutes, five minutes…there had been no indication whatsoever that anyone had even heard him. Sasori began to walk again, making it up to the cave where he slept. As he peered in, he saw Deidara laying on his cot, and felt like a complete retard. "There you are," Sasori murmured, stepping in. "I just searched this whole god damned cave…you and me need to talk." "About what, un?" His voice was soft and passive; his eye contact was minimal. "Look," Sasori said. "About the other night…I said some things that I didn't really mean…I was just really pissed off and I had nothing else to say." "Didn't your mommy ever tell you that if you didn't have anything nice to say, don't say nothing at all, un?" Laughter danced in Deidara's eyes, but Sasori remained solemn. "Ironically, no. She and my father were killed when I was only about a year old…I was raised with my grandmother, and she never said any such thing…" Deidara sighed. "I'm sorry, un…but I sort of know how that is, yeah. As far as I know, my mother was a prostitute, and my father was a drug cook. I was taken away from them at a pretty young age and raised in a Catholic orphanage. But no one wanted me because of my…deformities…but then someone came along who'd heard about my art, and he took me in when I was twelve…he was good to me…made sure I ate right and everything…and he put me through ninja training because he thought I had serious potential…" "Yeah, you know what? Your life sucks way worse than mine, dude…" Sasori sighed. "It's just too bad, you know? Sometimes, when I wish I could go back to Suna and play in the desert again with the lizards and the bugs…and then spend a few hours each night learning about different toxins and antidotes from Grandma Chiyo…life hits hard, doesn't it, Dei?" Deidara nodded his agreement, staring thoughtfully at his feet. "It all moves too fast, yeah," he muttered to no one in particular. "One day you're playing with plastic dinosaurs, then the next day you're running away from ANBU and at the same time fighting off an enemy in front of you, un." "Yeah, that sounds right." They sat in silence for a moment, wracking their brains for more interesting subjects. There wasn't much else to do in the early afternoon, as the sun was far too hot to enjoy the great outdoors. All they really had was speech. "Dude…you said your mom was a prostitute?" Deidara nodded. "You don't have any nasty diseases or rashes or anything, do you?" "Oh, hell no, un. I've been checked multiple times…I mean, I couldn't care less if I did, but I'm sort of glad that I don't at the same time, yeah." Now the conversation was just awkward. Sasori scolded himself deeply for asking such a brainless, perverted question. "Why do you ask, anyway, un?" "I—uh…well, if your mom was such a whore—" "Never mind, yeah," Deidara laughed. "And don't call her a whore, un. Use a stronger word, like…" Sasori went blank. "What's a stronger word than whore, un?" He shrugged. "Skank? Slut? I dunno…" "Sperm dumpster, un!" "PERFECT." They spent the next few hours coming up with new names to call Deidara's mother by, and had actually bothered to write some of the stuff down. They compiled a list containing words and phrases like, "gene soup," "AIDStravaganza," and for some reason, "squash." Already they could not remember why they had written it down, but they decided to keep it anyway. Then the conversation turned back to Sasori's family. "So, your mom…do you know anything about her?" Sasori sighed. "Well…all I know is that she was married into my clan's poison business…Chiyo was my grandmother on my father's side, you know, so…we never saw too much of my mom's family. I couldn't name any of them off if you gave me all the time in the world…but I do have a picture…" He began digging in the pockets of his cloak, pulling out things like dismembered arms to small marionettes, newspaper clippings, vintage candy wrappers, and finally, a couple of photographs. "This one," he handed it to Deidara. "Was apparently taken the day before my parents were killed. Behind us there, that's our house." "How old are these, un?" They were black and white pictures, and this particular one was just the three of them standing happily outside their house. Well, Sasori was actually sitting in the sand playing with a toad he had just caught, but altogether it still made a pretty sweet picture. "I think they're 43 years old," Sasori murmured, handing Deidara another one, this time of Sasori's mother and father trying to clean birthday cake off Sasori's face. "WHAT?!" Deidara shrieked. "43," Sasori repeated. "Yeah, that has to be right, un, because you're seventeen!" Sasori busted out laughing. "What's so funny, Danna?" "Nothing, Dei, nothing…it's just…I'm not seventeen!" He tried to get a hold of himself, but somehow the prospect of Deidara drastically miscalculating his age was beyond hilarity. "Well then…how old are you, un?" "Forty-four!" Sasori exclaimed, still on the verge of hysterics. "How the fuck is that possible, Danna?! Look at you!" "I know," Sasori said, suddenly going serious. "I'm a sexy mother fucker…" He burst out laughing again. "And you aren't gonna believe this, Dei, watch this!" He shot a jet of flame from the palm of his hand. "I come with flamethrowers for the sadist in you!" "You've got a hell of a lot of explaining to do!" Deidara shouted, handing the pictures back to Sasori, who was finally getting over his laughter. "How the hell can you be this old, but look so young, un!? None of this adds up!" Sasori sighed. "You're almost right, Deidara, but once you know, you'll find that it does add up…" He began undoing his cloak, and Deidara looked quite confused, but remained quiet. Finally, he dropped his cloak, and it landed in a crumpled heap at his ankles, and Deidara gasped. "What the hell did you do, un?!" "I underwent a procedure when I was not a year older than you to turn myself into sort of a human puppet. They had to kill me to do it, and while my heart still had energy, they had to transfer it into my new body." He indicated the end of a sort of canister that barely rose above the surface of his wooden chest. "This allowed my soul to be transferred as well as my chakra and all that beautiful stuff. I made this body myself, and I have several replacements in some of our outpost houses, as well as one that I can summon through use of a scroll in an emergency situation. That's where you might just have to come in, Deidara. You might have to be the one to take me from this body and shove me into another as quickly as you can." "Why did you do this to yourself, Danna?" Deidara's voice was shaking. "I wanted to keep my youth," Sasori continued. "To stay beautiful forever. But to never taste your favorite food, or enjoy the scent of a flower that you just so happen to cross…those things are a mere memory. Sensations of touch are limited only to what you would feel in the first few layers of skin. Temperature, however, I cannot feel, nor does it affect me…I'd say one of the true advantages to being made of wood is that when you fall in the water, you float." Deidara did not find this funny in the least. "But Danna! What if you hadn't joined Akatsuki? What if you would have wanted to start a family or something, un?" "Then I would have killed myself," Sasori spat. "What woman would want this?!" Suddenly, ten large blades held by two steel arms erupted from his back, and the thing in his stomach (which Deidara suddenly realized was a very thick cable) fell out and coiled around Sasori's left leg. "I can add more if I very well please," he continued on the verge of a rant. "But it isn't like I can remove anything. Once it's there, it's there, there's nothing I can do to take it off but make a new body from scratch!" With that, Sasori threw a punch at the stone wall of the cavern, and knocked off a chunk about as big around as a deep dish pizza back in Iwa. "I'm a fucking machine, that's all I am!" Sasori screamed, punching the wall again. "A machine meant to kill, not to enjoy!" "Danna, calm down," Deidara said shakily, slowly backing away. Sasori's head spun around a whole one hundred and eighty degrees, and he said, "I'm a machine, Deidara, I can't calm down…" This had to be the freakiest thing Deidara had ever seen. He was shaking, not sure whether he should run or hit Sasori with something to try and snap him out of it, but he knew that either way, if Sasori didn't calm down, he'd probably eventually take the whole mountain down. He already had a hole six feet wide by two feet deep gouged out of the wall. Deidara did NOT want to find out what Sasori was truly capable of. "Danna…please…you aren't a machine, un…you have a mind of your own!!" This didn't seem to help. Sasori's head spun back into its original position, and he rounded on Deidara. "I have a mind of my own, do I? I think that makes me a fucking robot, which is still a machine, which means I am—" "Machines don't have souls, Danna!" In a stroke of incredibly stupid courage, Deidara reached out and pulled the canister containing Sasori's heart from his chest. Suddenly, all facial features disappeared, and his eyes turned into black pits. Sasori's body collapsed, leaving an empty wooden shell on the floor. In his hand, Sasori's chakra seemed to almost burn his skin. He quickly replaced his partner's heart and watched in amazement, as everything seemed to melt back into place. Deidara was silent, waiting for the punishment that was sure to come. Sasori, spread-eagle on the floor, blinked stupidly, then murmured hoarsely, "Touché…"


	4. Fire and Ice::Chapter 4

The house smelled absolutely disgusting…like an old pair of socks that had been left to mold

:The Next Day:

Whatever damage Sasori had caused by going haywire on Deidara the other night seemed to have been repaired the day before, ironically, in a fit of horrible rage. Never had he felt so intensely angry. It was the kind of rage that filled in every surface of one's being—almost like a demonic possession—and it demanded total cooperation, otherwise one could begin getting delusional out of rage. "Sasori, can we leave today, un?" Deidara asked impatiently from his cot. "Well," Sasori said thoughtfully. Deidara looked at him with much anticipation. "No. You aren't completely healed yet, and you need to be at the top of your condition for this job…that means no injuries and or other medical maladies, no sex, no drinking, and no drugs." Deidara pulled a strange face that even Sasori could not recognize the meaning of. "You have got to be shitting me, un!" "Yeah, just a lot...why? You…like sex?" "No…I just like to go through life half-hallucinating, un! It makes the explosions wilder, the parties better, and plus you get to be sick for a day after, yeah!" Sasori smirked. "Just do me a favor and don't let this get to be an every day thing…I like you sober." And then the strangest thought crossed his mind: What if Deidara were under the influence? What if he were interested in…Sasori pushed the thought forcefully out of his mind. All it could possibly be to cause thoughts like this were the seventeen-year-old hormones that constantly surged through him…somehow. "Uhm…" his voice cracked, and Deidara cocked his head to the side in a worried sort of fashion. "I…I have to go…I'll be back in a few minutes. I'm going to shower…" He turned and jogged to the nearest shower room. These were always nice…soundproof, with the stone and everything and thick wooden doors…Sasori put one of his socks on the door to indicate that someone was occupying this particular shower room, and he closed and locked the door. As he undressed himself, he sighed in relief. He had definitely come close to thinking it…too close. But now he was alone…he could direct his thoughts how he wanted…and still, as he felt the water cascading over him; as he shook his sopping hair out of his eyes; his only thoughts were of Deidara.

Mere moments later, Sasori was leaning into the side of the shower, forehead contacting the smooth granite as he stared between his feet, knees slightly shaking. He closed his eyes, panting, and reflected on what he had just done, with nothing but the sound of the water to soothe him. It had been so long since he had felt a drive like that…but what had compelled him to feel this way? Was it Deidara, or just the prospect of sex? Confusion gripped Sasori as if his brain was caught in a vice, and he grimaced. One thing was for certain: "Being a virgin fucking sucks…" Finally, he shut off the water, dried himself off, and put his clothes back on. He figured his hair was good enough, so he didn't do anything else but shake his head to try and dry it a little more (this effort was quite in vain), and he went back to his and Deidara's little cavern, where Deidara was still sitting on his cot. As he entered the room, the boy looked up. "Are you okay, un?" "Yeah," Sasori replied breathlessly. "I'm just fine. Why?" "You look a little shaken up, yeah," Deidara commented. "Well, you know," Sasori tried to think of a lie quick, but for some reason found himself right in the middle of a royal brain fart. All he could say after was, "I mean…you know?" Deidara cocked an eyebrow, looking very confused, and nodded skeptically. "I'm fine, Deidara…" He sat next to him, and put his head in his hands, thinking very intently about nothing. "Are you sure you don't need to sleep, un? I usually sleep better after a hot shower, yeah…" Sasori uttered a little squeak as more dirty thoughts slipped into his skull. This shouldn't be happening…not now…not ever. Sasori always thought he knew himself quite well, but after this strange turn of events, he wasn't so sure anymore. Now more than ever before he was feeling so many different things. He got up and began to slam his forehead against the wall. He knew splinters were flying everywhere. That didn't matter. "Danna!" Deidara sprang up from the cot and pulled Sasori away from the wall. Instantly, his forehead began pulling itself seamlessly back together, and Deidara turned him around. "You need to sleep, un," he said firmly. "Just go to sleep for a few hours, Danna…please?" Sasori could hardly register what Deidara was saying. All he could feel right now were the boy's thin hands on his shoulders; how the sensation created a weird burning feeling. "Will you sleep with me?" he blurted. "What?" Deidara was clearly in shock, and Sasori shook his head. "NOT what I meant," he mumbled. "I meant, will you be sleeping, too?" Deidara shrugged. "Have a couple of knockout pills?" Sasori nodded, and as Deidara released him, he felt all the feeling go away again. Like how it was supposed to be. Relief washed over him. "Technically not pills," Sasori murmured, looking in a box under his cot. "But two drops of this will have you out in five minutes…lasts about three hours…" "Cool…" Deidara took the dosage and went to lie down, and Sasori replaced everything and laid down, too. Sleep would be good for him now. It would help get rid of this weird delirium that seemed to be strangling him from the soul outward.


	5. Fire and Ice::Chapter 5

"Danna, wake up!" Sasori felt himself being shaken rather forcefully, and when he opened his eyes, Deidara was sitting next to his cot with a look of relief on his face. "Finally. You've been asleep for about two days…I was starting to think you'd died, un!" "TWO DAYS!?" Sasori sprung out of the cot and got tangled up in his blankets. He fell to the floor with a hollow thud. Deidara helped him out of his blankets, then said, "Yeah. We have to go!" "Right now? I don't want to go anywhere, Dei…" Deidara grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard. "DANNA!!" "What day is it…?" "Who cares, un? I need to get the hell out of this cave before I go insane!!" "Okay, okay," Sasori was finally starting to come around a little. "Give me a few minutes and we'll leave…Jesus Christ, boy…" He packed a few choice toxins, folded up his blankets, slipped on his shoes, and they left the cave. "I just don't know how you can sleep like that, un," Deidara commented as they made their way down the mountain. Sasori was beginning to get frustrated because he always had trouble getting down this steep of a slope without any mishaps or losses of balance, and Deidara seemed to be able to walk right down without even slipping on loose pebbles. "Dei, I hate you," Sasori murmured, trying desperately to keep his balance. Deidara looked back, and giggled. He was about twelve feet in front of Sasori, who was struggling with every step. "The trick is to keep your eyes on the rocks, un…" "That's what I've been doing." Deidara shrugged. "Maybe you just suck at this, yeah…" Sasori, in a fit of rage, unraveled the cable from his stomach, and shot it straight at Deidara, winding him up and bringing him back up the mountain to where Sasori was. "I will drop you off the side of this cliff," he whispered. To his surprise, Deidara looked quite calm, but then as he thought it through, he realized there were at least a hundred different ways he could get out of death. With that, he simply dropped the boy and jumped down after him. Channeling chakra through his hands as Deidara was, he said, "I dunno why I never thought of this before! It's a hell of a lot faster than walking down!" Deidara smiled, and his feet touched grass almost silently. Sasori was not so lucky. He had been caught up watching Deidara's graceful movements and had lost track of his own, landing in a crumpled heap on the ground. "Are you okay, un? You've been acting weird lately, un…" "Just fine…" He got up and dusted himself off, and they began walking towards the mountains. "You know, this would be a lot more fun if we were stoned, un," Deidara mumbled, springing ahead with new found energy. "Dei, you think everything would be a lot more fun if we were stoned…but really, if you want to be wasted the whole trip, keep your eyes to the ground. You might find something like…like…" Sasori scanned the ground. "Like these!" He had found a whole bunch of Psilocybin mushrooms beside a tree that Deidara had completely overlooked. "Holy shit, un…" Deidara stood in awe of the mushrooms, as if he had never seen anything quite as amazing as this. "I think I've died and somehow gone to heaven, yeah…Damn, Danna, I need to take you outside more often!" Sasori groaned. "I took YOU outside, dumbass. Just pick your damned mushrooms and start tripping so I can have some entertainment…" "I'm so happy I could kiss you, un!" Sasori hoped he wasn't blushing. But…just his luck… "Danna…" Deidara turned pink, too. "You fucking pervert, un!" Sasori shoved him playfully. "Shut up, Dei…seriously. Pick your shrooms and lets get the hell out of here. We have to make it over the mountains by nightfall." Deidara knelt down and plucked each mushroom from the ground, looking quite pleased, and placed them carefully in one of his pockets. "So, where are we going, un? It's pretty obvious we aren't making it to either hidden village in one day, un." Sasori shook his head. "Not unless we could fly or something…we're going to stay the night in an outpost town. They almost never have any knowledge of ninja criminals unless they're within twelve miles of a ninja village." "Oh…that sounds good, I suppose, un…" Suddenly Deidara seemed a little distant. Normally, Sasori wouldn't have cared, but it was Deidara. He had to know. "Dei? What's wrong?" "What the fuck do you care, un?" he snapped, and Sasori shook his head. "Nothing…I don't care!" The rest of the walk was held in a deep, tense silence. Deidara had grown inexplicably angry with him, so Sasori had decided he'd just shut up. The last thing he wanted was to permanently damage the pathetic relationship he'd already built with this boy.

Nearly six hours later, they had made it to the little village, and had rented out a motel room. It wasn't much, but it had two beds, a television, a bathroom, and a bible (though Sasori was unsure of what the hell they were going to do with a bible, as neither of them was religious). Deidara had still not said anything to him that was worth noting. He merely muttered "shower" and went into the bathroom for a while. Sasori was exhausting his mind, trying to figure our what he had done to piss Deidara off this badly. As he had observed before, he had a rather short temper, but he was convinced he hadn't done anything to piss him off. "I should ask him," Sasori murmured, resting his forehead on his knees. Soon, Deidara emerged from the bathroom. When he opened the door, steam had billowed out after him, and what little skin was exposed looked slightly irritated. "Which sin were you trying to burn off your body this time?" Sasori asked him bitterly. He knew Deidara had done it on purpose, but was unsure how to say this, so he merely "took a tone" with him. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, un." Deidara's voice had dropped to a dangerous whisper, and Sasori knew better than to push it. "Look, I'm sorry," he said. "You just haven't been yourself today and if you're willing to tell me, I want to know what's wrong…" "Nothing," Deidara insisted. "I've been just fine, un…" "Dei!" "Just shut up, un!" Deidara turned right back around, and Sasori heard the shower turn back on again, followed by cries of pain, and some other noise that Sasori couldn't identify. It didn't matter. He knew the water was way too hot, so he got up and started pounding on the door. "TURN THE FUCKING WATER OFF OR I'LL BUST DOWN THE DOOR AND KILL YOU!!" He didn't mean it this time…not this time. He just wanted to make sure Deidara was okay…he wanted everything to be okay. "Go away, un!" He could hear the sobs shaking the boy's voice, and became slightly frustrated. "I AM NOT GOING AWAY UNTIL YOU TURN OFF THE WATER! I SWEAR TO GOD I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!" But the water didn't turn off, and Sasori knew Deidara was still drenching himself in scalding water. "DAMNIT, YOU GIVE ME NO OTHER CHOICE!!" Sasori unwound a bit of his cable, and used the tip of it to break the doorknob clear off the door, which merely swung inward after that. His eyes were met with a rather depressing sight. Deidara was curled up on the floor of the shower, skin bright red and almost bleeding, and sobbing his eyes out. Sasori froze. He didn't know how to process the information being shown to him. Deidara had gained some weight, which was good, but at the same time, he was in an absolutely pathetic state. Blood was staining the water an orangey sort of pink, and Sasori rushed forward and turned the water off. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked, mostly talking to himself, as he wrapped Deidara in a towel. Blood began to seep through, and Sasori felt panicky. He knew Deidara's back wasn't bleeding…so what was? He began wracking his brains, but nothing came to mind. Nothing except… "Deidara, show me your arms…" Deidara stuck out his arms so only the tops could be seen. Droplets of scarlet blood cascaded from the bottoms of his arms like a light rain. Sasori grabbed his partner's wrists, turned his arms over, and knew he would have vomited if he'd had a stomach. All over Deidara's arms were deep cuts, crisscrossing each other and some even left little flaps of skin hanging. They looked like they were starting to get infected. "Dei…" he felt like he was going to cry. He couldn't. Not in front of Deidara. He turned his head, trying to get a hold on his emotions. It just didn't seem to be working. "Why did you do this?" Miraculously, his voice did not quiver with the overpowering pain he felt in his heart. Deidara did not answer, so Sasori was forced to wrap his arms in toilet paper and secure the makeshift bandages with masking tape. "Get dressed," Sasori commanded, and turned his back. He wasn't about to leave the bathroom. He had no idea what Deidara would try next. Fortunately, he didn't do anything but get dressed, so they went back out, sat on their beds, and turned on the television. There didn't really seem to be anything on that was of much interest, so they had to sit through two painful hours of some women's cooking and cleaning show. "They need to get cable, yeah…" Deidara muttered. "I hate it too, Dei," Sasori responded. "But there isn't really much we can do about it." After a few more minutes learning about how to color coordinate for a book club meeting, Deidara grabbed the remote and flicked the television off. "I've got a really lame idea, un, but it's the only thing we have to do…" "How do you know I wasn't enjoying that show?" Sasori asked, hiding his sarcasm. Deidara rolled his eyes. "Please! You were wearing the classic 'shoot me in the fucking head now' look, un…" Sasori sighed. "So, what's your idea?" "Spin the bottle, un." "What?!" "I said, Truth or Dare, yeah…you need to get your hearing checked…" "It's lame, but you're right…it's the only thing to do…" Deidara clapped his hands together stupidly, then pulled a face that seemed to mean he was horrified with what he'd just done. "Truth or dare?" "Dare," Sasori said, feeling reckless. Deidara thought for a moment, then said, "Okay, un. Is there an old-folks home in this village, un?" "No, but there are old people…" Deidara suddenly wore a most mischievous look. "Okay. What I want you to do is just walk right into some old broad's home, find her, and if she's asleep, un, wake her up, then announce to her that you are going to rape her because she's a sexy bitch, un. Then, kiss her on the forehead and leave." "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Deidara had no comment. "I am NOT kissing some old chick…especially on the forehead…" Suddenly, a picture of himself kissing Deidara flashed into his mind, and he whimpered. "Having dirty old woman sex thoughts, un?" Deidara asked. "Eh…no…not…not old women…" Was he really ready to admit this to Deidara? "Sasori-danna…you've been acting a little weird around me lately, un. Is everything okay?" This was moving way too fast. Sasori hardly knew which way was up right now. All he wanted was to kiss Deidara and get it over with, just to see how he'd react to such treatment. But it was wrong. He couldn't do something like that. What if Deidara didn't see him like that? It was most likely that he didn't, anyway! "Danna, are you okay? You aren't having a heart attack, are you, un?" "No," Sasori gasped. "Not—not at all…" "You're pretty twitchy…" "You're a hell of a lot twitchier than I am!!" Sasori shouted, then clapped his hands over his mouth. Deidara raised an eyebrow. "Should I go get a medical ninja?" "NO!" Deidara went into a sort of submissive position, and then asked, "Well then, what's wrong?" Sasori couldn't believe he had been trapped like this. He was convinced that Deidara did not have the skills to talk him in circles…at the same time he was rather distressed. "I can't tell you…it would compromise our working relationship…" He had no choice but to look away from the boy he was falling for. "Danna…will you please look at me, un?" "I can't," Sasori whispered. "You wouldn't understand…" "I understand more than you think, yeah," Deidara said softly. "Just…please, I wanna help…" Sasori could feel the mental stress building up. He didn't know how much longer he could handle this. He wanted to tell him so badly, but he couldn't. He just couldn't do it because he was afraid of rejection…and if Deidara said no, that might even end their miserable friendship. Sasori didn't want to risk it. "Deidara…" Sasori looked back at him, trying to avoid his gaze but finding it nearly impossible to do so. There was something captivating about those cold, blue eyes…and Sasori couldn't put his finger on it for the life of him. Something… "I just…I can't tell you…it's a personal issue…" "I've got a lot of those, un," Deidara told him. "Are you absolutely sure it's something I can't help you fix?" Sasori shook his head, feeling so stupid. "Well…okay, un…just know that if you need to talk about it, don't hesitate to wake me up, okay, un?" Sasori nodded, trying his hardest not to blurt out the thoughts he was trying to suppress. He watched Deidara climb under the covers, wishing that he was under there with him. "Goodnight, Danna," Deidara murmured, letting his hair down (filling Sasori's head with even more dirty thoughts) and burying himself beneath the blankets. "Goodnight," Sasori sighed, feeling the most horrible suffocating feeling in his heart…but it felt so good. This must have been it…what his grandmother had talked about all those years…

_"Sasori, someday, you're going to fall in love with a girl," Chiyo said. "And when you do, it will be the most nerve-wracking time of your life. There are going to be a lot of ups and downs…but you will know—trust me—when you have truly fallen in love, because she will haunt your every thought day and night and drive you insane until you can finally admit to her how you're feeling." "Grandmother," Sasori said. "We've been through this a hundred times. I've got no time for love. I have a future to look forward to that just doesn't involve another person, or children, or any of that…"_


	6. Fire and Ice::Chapter 6

_Green fire in the sky, and it ravages endlessly. Destroying what one might think belonged to them—reclamation. This was sin, tragic sin like none ever seen before. Mushroom clouds blossomed like giant, hellish flowers on the horizon, and the air seemed to spontaneously combust with every breath that was taken. This was where the difference between carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide was evident. The sickly olive haze seemed to blot out the sun, sending everything out to die like a rainbow roller coaster dancing in the sky…_

Deidara awoke with a start. It was the weirdest dream he'd ever had in his life. No, not a dream. It had been too real…he felt his forehead, testing for heat. His temperature seemed normal. Getting back in control of his breathing, the spastic blonde glanced over at his master. "Still sound asleep, un," he murmured, throwing the blankets off of him. He walked over to the window quietly as he could, first looking into the sky. It was hazy, thick with rain, but normal nonetheless. Deidara sighed, pressing his hand against the cold, hard glass as thunder rumbled off in the distance. Today was a new day. Always a new day. Sasori would be okay today. "Really, he will, yeah," Deidara reassured himself, and returned, without another word, to his bed.

Sasori was snoring lightly, the rain was pounding on the windows as if demanding entrance, and Deidara was bored out of his skull. He didn't dare turn on the television for fear of what his danna would say if he awoke to yet another episode of Martha Stewart Living (though, deep down, Deidara had a suspicion that it was Sasori's favorite show). Okay, so maybe it wasn't what Sasori would say to him…but the potential of what he could do. He still hadn't gotten the events of that night out of his head.

_"Deidara, you'll be damn lucky if I decide to keep you alive. You're a sick freak," Sasori spat angrily. "Danna—" "Shut the fuck up," Sasori whispered. "You've done enough tonight…waking me up in the middle of the night, and for what? Wondering where you can get a fucking glass of water?" Deidara bowed his head. "I'm sorry Danna!" Sasori rolled his eyes. "I'm fucking sure…you know where you can get your god damned water?" Sasori hissed. Deidara was stupid enough to look up, begging him to tell the location of this glass of water. "Take my hand," Sasori murmured, holding it out. Unthinking, the blonde grasped Sasori's hand gently, and there was a sharp pain just seconds later. With a pained scream, Deidara pulled his hand away (trying his hardest to ignore the sadistic smirk on Sasori's face) and nursed his mouth as best he could. It was sopping wet with water, bleeding, and missing a few teeth. Sasori turned with a chuckle at the typicality of blonde stupidity, and went back to his cot. _

Deidara lifted his left hand to his face, and it opened, revealing the missing teeth. This always hit him right in the heart. To think that Sasori could be so mean as to actually cause his own partner bodily harm…but it was to be expected. Deidara now realized his stupid mistake…he hadn't known Sasori was so cold-blooded, but from that night on, he kept his eye out for anything that might lead him into a trap. The missing teeth in his hand's mouth were a good reminder of that.

There was a moan from Sasori's bed, and when Deidara looked, he noticed a flaming head of hair poke itself out from beneath the over-washed covers. A groggy-looking Sasori turned to face him just seconds later. "Morning, brat," he murmured. Deidara grinned. "It's not morning, un. It's three in the afternoon." Sasori groaned again. "Dei, you have to learn to wake me up, do you realize that?" Deidara was instantly hit with a pang of guilt. He had known better than to let Sasori sleep in past eleven—the scars around his ribcage were a painful reminder, and yet he had still forgotten to rouse him. Mentally, he slapped himself in the face over and over until he actually felt a bit of a sting. He raised his hand to his cheek, but the flesh wasn't irritated, so he glanced over at Sasori, now sitting cross-legged on top of the bed and searching irately for the remote. So, it had all been a trick of his mind…Deidara scolded himself for letting his imagination become so vivid.

"Stupid mother fucking piece of SHIT!" Sasori screamed, throwing the remote violently against the wall. He watched, rather pleased, as the batteries fell out, along with a couple of buttons. "Sasori-danna, you have to be careful with these remotes, un," Deidara said softly, picking it up for him. "Sometimes the batteries are just loose…" Obediently, the blonde brought the device back to his master. But Sasori was barely listening. He was too intent on Deidara's lips…they beckoned to him in a sort of weird, fantastical way that was just too captivating for words. "Are you alright?" Deidara asked. "You're getting that weird look again, un." Sasori flushed darkly, and adjusted the batteries in the remote. "It's nothing," he said. With the lie, he felt his heart ache a little more, but ignored the feeling as he switched the channel to, once again, a women's cooking show. Deidara crawled onto the bed next to him, and said, "Are you really that bored, or are you avoiding something, un?" Sasori shook his head. "I'm fine, Dei. Really…"

Deidara sighed softly. It wasn't right for Sasori to be acting like this…so shy. It wasn't like him at all. "Do you have agoraphobia, un?" Sasori just ignored the question. Deidara shrugged. It had been a stupid one anyway. "It's raining hard," Sasori said softly, shutting off the television. "I love days like these, un," Deidara said. "When it rains like this, I don't feel so alone, un. It's like, finally, there's someone else that understands how I feel…" Sasori pulled a strange face as the thunder hit. "Forty-five," he murmured. "And still scared to death of the thunder…" Deidara grinned. "Danna, the lightning is what you really have to worry about, yeah. It'll kill you dead, burn you from head to foot, and then—" Sasori turned and glared lazily right into the dead center of Deidara's soul…so it seemed. His gaze had always been rather intense. "Shut the hell up, dumbass." "Sorry, Sasori…" The blonde couldn't help but just watch. As Sasori turned back towards the window, he was trembling from head to foot. Deidara let a small smile curve his lips. Sasori was frightened. He'd never seen anything so ridiculous…but at the same time, there was an insane sense of innocence radiating from the puppeteer…as if he wasn't a killer, or a manipulative jerk by nature…no. Today, he seemed to be a small child again, cowering in his mother's bed, listening to her soft coos, and trying his hardest to will the rain to stop. Cautiously, Deidara moved closer to his master, hoping he would not be reprimanded for his actions…Sasori glanced at him, gave him a weak smile, even, but Deidara could not be fooled. He knew that if Sasori were ten years old, he'd have already pissed himself. "Sasori…you know it can't hurt you, un…" "I fucking know that, fucktard."

Sasori scolded himself for picking up on Hidan's nasty language and various uses of the word 'fuck.' But it was all he could do to convey his independence. He didn't need Deidara's support because he was his own man. Thunder and lightning weren't going to keep him down. "Sorry," Sasori whispered apologetically. Deidara smiled weakly, his blue eye sparkling in the dim light. Sasori was sure the boy was picturing some wild assortment of explosions going on in the clouds each time thunder rumbled, or lightning cut the sky open. "Lightning is like a razor," Sasori commented. Deidara cocked his head, and brushed a strand of golden hair out of his face. "How so, un?" "Every time it flashes, rain pours from the sky…" "Like the blade to the vein, un?" Sasori nodded. Thunder was rumbling and lightning was illuminating the room. He felt slightly nauseous, but would never let Deidara know. "It's because I think I'm tough," Sasori murmured under his breath. "What?" Deidara asked. "Hm? Nothing, Dei…just thinking…" Silently, he cursed himself for not being able to get his fear under control enough to stop shaking like this. He must have looked pathetic. "Deidara, would you—" A particularly loud bit of thunder let itself be known, shaking Sasori to the core, not to mention the rest of the world, and filling his mind with images of none other than the grim reaper standing in the silent snow. All he could hear was screaming, and the rumble of the thunder, the crashing of the lightning…but the screams were his own cries of terror in the dark. All he saw was darkness. His eyes were clenched shut as hard as he could manage, and a new sound cut in to the horror. "Relax, Sasori…it's not going to hurt you, un…" For the life of him, the only reaction Sasori could muster was to wrap his oak arms around the thin frame that embraced him. The only thought going through the puppeteer's mind was 'darkness is a blanket, smothering out life…' It brought him an odd sense of foreboding, but he disregarded it. There were more important things to concentrate on. Deidara's light touch, the comforting words spewed forth from the lips Sasori was sure were soft as silk, and the electrical feeling that seemed to pulse through his heart.


End file.
